Pages

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Osso Buco (The Seduction Dinner)

Okay, Ladies. Listen up. My mother was right. The best way to a man's heart is definitely through his stomach. I speak from experience. We all need to have, at least, that one dish that we have perfected. The one dish that we prepare, while waiting hoping for "the one" who is about to arrive for a the "Grand Seduction" dinner. Secretly, we hope that he'll be so impressed, that he'll propose- because he's been looking for a woman who can cook as good his mother. It's been many years since I've had to play that role, but I still enjoy seducing my husband's taste buds with something I know that he loves.

Fortunately, my husband is very easy to please. His favorites are some of my simplest recipes, like meatloaf, Sloppy Joe's and Roast Chicken. But, whenever we go out to a "nice" restaurant, and Craig sees "Osso Buco" on the menu-- I already know that's what he's going to order.

I do enjoy going out to restaurants-- especially since we live so close to Carmel, California. If you've ever been there, then you know that an Osso Buco dinner, with appetizer, wine and tip can be very pricey. In recent years, though, I've grown more fond of making a nice dinner for my Sweetheart, and enjoying a quiet dinner at home.

So, while doing my weekly shopping at Whole Foods, a special on oxtails inspired me to make one of my husband's favorite dishes at home. By the way, you can easily substitute short ribs or veal shanks for this recipe. They would be just as delicious.

Searing and braising is one of my favorite cooking methods. The prep work might take up to an hour, but in the end-- I can just sit down and relax while my Dutch Oven turns an inexpensive cut of meat into something that is tender, and has a beautiful sauce.

Flour is seasoned with salt and pepper. The golden rule for beautifully browned and seared meats is this-- pat the meat bone dry. Pun intended.

The meat is beautifully seared, and there's lots of brown caramelization on the bottom of the Dutch Oven. We're off to a great start.

Of course, we need chopped veggies to build flavor for the sauce-- carrots, onion and celery. Saute until soft, just a few minutes. Add garlic, of course. Now we need fresh chopped herbs: rosemary and thyme. Gotta add tomato paste. It's just the right thing to do-- it gives a depth of flavor that is unsurpassed. Sounds dramatic, but so true.

Now, for the red wine. I love cooking with white, but I'm all about red wine with a tomato paste braising sauce. I know these things. The red wine deglazes the pot, and loosens up all that beautiful brown stuff that stuck on the bottom. Flavor!

Now, we add beef stock. And bay leaves. Then we nestles those beautifully browned chunks of meat into the pot.

We cover the Dutch Oven, and place into a 350F preheated oven. Now wait for 2-1/2 to 3 hours for wonderful things to happen. That gives you plenty of time to set the table, freshen up and to set the mood for dinner. Don't forget the music.

To finish the recipe, I remove the bay leaves (of course). To thicken the sauce, I use about 2 Tablespoons of cornstarch, whisked with about equal water. It is sloooooooooowly added in, a bit at a time, until it reaches the thickness that I like.

Osso Buco, in Italian means "Bone with a Hole". As a garnish, a Gremolata can be served. I was so tempted to chop the fresh parsley, garlic and lemon zest. But, I changed my mind. The sauce tasted so good, that I didn't want to detract from that. My second dilemna was in deciding what to serve it with-- mashed potatoes? Polenta? Then, I decided that I wanted to make Risotto. While searching for information on Osso Buco, I discovered that a Risotto Milanese was most appropriate.

The table was set, and Date Night at home was on. I was so excited as I plated the Risotto, because it not only looked pretty-- it tasted creamy and delicious.

When I plated the Osso Buco, I was confident that I was going to have one very happy husband. The sauce was one of my personal best.

TASTING NOTES: Bingo. I did it, and not only did the Osso Bucco look as pretty as any we've had in a restaurant--it was fabulous! I feel as though I accomplished something that my husband truly appreciated. Both of us marveled at how the meat just came off the bone, with our forks. The sauce had just the right balance of red wine, the depth of the tomato paste, just the right amount of herbs and seasoning. The risotto... I'm so glad that I chose this recipe. We had a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that complimented the dish perfectly. The company was the best part-- just the two of us. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is "the dish" that will be remembered for a long time to come. This is perfect for a dinner party, too.

I prepared a serving for my son, and covered it with plastic wrap. The next day, my son reheated it and he raved about it. He's been hinting that he'd love for me to make both the risotto and Osso Buco again. Yes, the way to a man's heart-- even your son's-- just like my mama said....

A printable recipe card for the the Risotto and the Osso Buco is at the very end of this post. If you can't view it, click here:

I have never had Osso Bucco and I'm not sure why because this looks mouthwatering. I do short ribs quite a bit and they are my new favorite thing...I bet these would be just as wonderful, esp. over some creamy risotto. Yum. If I didn't already have lambchops for dinner I might be trying this.

What a great deal at WF...they do have decent sales every once in a while.

Our daughter has requested Osso Bucco for Christmas dinner this year and I'm certainly going to strongly refer to your recipe that is currently being printed here! Even the Risotto Milanese is perfect on its own, but hey, why not double the delight!xoRoz

Dear Anonymous,Thank you for pointing out my editing errors. It's a challenge, sometimes, because I cook by the seat of my pants. So, trying to reenact how I made it, can lead to recipe writing error. I fixed those mistakes. I hope it turned out to be a success for you.Debby

Good Osso Bucco! It looks just like the pictures. Only question... What do you do with the half-gallon of sauce this recipe yields? Serve it over risotto? Risotto has it's own sauce. Seems like somebody's pretty solid restaurant recipe with the amount of meat simply reduced. Doing it again I would make this with 12-16 pieces of meat, which is probably what was specified in the original recipe, OR I would cut everything in half except the meat.

Hey, not sure If my last comment came through, I am just curious about a couple things because this looks soooo good. I'm wondering if you reduce your red wine by half? All the other osso bucco recipes instruct to, and also due to the large volume of sauce I wondering its okay for the meat to be fully submerged as some recipes suggest to have the meat not completely covered by the sauce. It looks amazing either way! Also do you tie ox tails with twine or are they safe left alone because they are a tougher cut. Thanks so much if you get back to me, sorry for the picky questions!! :)

It would really help if you spelled the name of this dish correctly. Buco (hole) has one C not two. Also, in Italy it is NOT a tradition to serve with risotto. Lived there most of my life and never seen that. Osso buco is mostly served with polenta which is mainly a winter dish.

Elena, we are only human. Your rebuke has been duly noted and I've fixed my spelling error. However, I have seen Osso Buco Milanese recipes that are served with risotto, thank you very much. I said that "risotto was most appropriate". Polenta is my favorite, but I was going with the recommendations of Ann Burrell and Tyler Florence, to name a few that risotto Milanese was a perfect side dish. The risk I take, by putting myself "out there" on the internet are "experts" who write comments with a bit of acidity to them. A simple email to me would have been gratefully appreciated. Feel better now? (Sorry, but I was taken aback with the harshness of your comment. Rather than deleting it, I decided to address it publicly.) Have a wonderful day!

Thank you for this delicious looking recipe. I agree with your mother's advice and am fond of sharing those words of wisdom with young ladies. :) I want to commend you for answering the critical commeny with such uncommon grace. Too many times others forget good manners are "always" in style. Bravo! And grazi again for the recipe!

Sarah, I wish you had emailed me foodiewife@gmail.com. I have no idea what happened to my ingredients! I just retyped the recipe card, and it defaulted back to not having the ingredients. I'm so sorry. I'll try and get this fixed, but it's late and I can't deal with it until the morning.

I made this for a big (emotionally big anyway) dinner with my husbands boss and his partner and it was so good they took their leftovers home in a doggie bag. I did it with pork (big shanks) and with the Risotto Milanese which was a wonderful accompaniment. This recipe made me look like an absolute rock star. Thank you for posting it and please don't let the nasty comments get you down - I'm sure 99% of us out there appreciate your efforts and don't give a hoot about spelling. 😜 Many thanks!

Welcome!

Welcome to my internet kitchen. Please, sit back and relax, and watch me make delicious food and bakery recipes. Most of my recipes are simple, flavorful meals-- and a few baked treats. I focus on using fresh, seasonal ingredients and I try to avoid using boxed mixes and processed foods. I'm having fun learning how to cook like my grandmother once did-- from scratch! I hope that my step-by-step photos will inspire a timid cook to try them. Even if you're a seasoned cook, hopefully you'll learn a new tip or two.

If you have any questions,or just want to say "hello", please feel free to email me: foodiewife@gmail.com

For Potato Lovers (Like Me)

Grab A Button

Do you "Pinterest"?

Privacy Policy

This policy is valid from 30 August 2014

This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received will never influence the content, topics or posts made in this blog. All advertising is in the form of advertisements generated by a third party ad network. Those advertisements will be identified as paid advertisements.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

This blog does not contain any content which might present a conflict of interest.